Trends in Product - 2024 edition.
1. Working Together with Customers through CABs
2. Making Product Operations Smoother
3. Diving Deep into Metrics: It's Not Just About the Numbers
Our ways of working and pushing the profession forward constantly evolve in product management.
This year, I have seen some trends changing product development that I find pretty interesting. Number one specifically relates to the theme I've been hammering over the last couple of months about finding new ways to connect with customers.
Let's break down these product trends to give you some ideas for incorporating them into your daily work life.
1. Working Together with Customers through CABs
Imagine you're creating a new video game or smartphone app. How do you ensure that people will love it?
Well, one way is to ask them directly.
That's where Customer Advisory Boards (CABs) come in. It's like forming a club where your most interested customers can give you advice.
With cool tech like virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), even people far away can join in as if they're right there with you.
This means you can get all sorts of ideas and feedback from people worldwide, making your product better because you're genuinely listening to what your customers want.
There are some outstanding books out there,” such as “The Mom Test: How to Talk to Customers & Learn If Your Business Is a Good Idea When Everyone Is Lying to You,” which will help teach you the ropes on how to ask questions and get the most out of these sessions.
2. Making Product Operations Smoother
Think of a product team like a kitchen crew in a busy restaurant.
Everyone has a job, from the chef to the dishwasher, and they all need to work smoothly together to get meals out on time and ensure customers' satisfaction.
Ensuring this team works well together in product management is getting much attention.
It's called Product Ops (or Operations). It's all about finding ways to make the team more efficient, like finding faster communication methods or solving problems slowing them down.
When everyone can work together better, they can make better products faster.
Also, if you are fortunate enough to work in a company with an excellent product ops team, message me. I would love to hear more about your experiences!
3. Diving Deep into Metrics: It's Not Just About Numbers
It's easy to track the number of users or downloads of your app. However, there's a lot more to the story to uncover.
Product managers are starting to look more at how people use their products and building more tools into their products, Iike Full Story, which gives you usage analytics on top of session recordings.
What features do they love? Which ones do they ignore? How does using the product improve their lives?
By looking at data like how long people stay engaged with the product or how valuable it is to them over time, product managers can make smarter decisions about what to improve or add next.
This isn’t new in the industry; however, combining this data with other sources and telling a fuller picture is becoming increasingly important.
Tapping into data creation systematically means less time spent gathering general info and allows you more time to focus your research efforts.
In 2024, product management is about getting closer to your customers, improving your team, and understanding how your product affects people's lives.
By focusing on these areas, products can become not just things people use but things they love.
Thank you for reading. Don’t forget to connect with us on LinkedIn!